OTTAWA, ON-The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) opens a new office in Ottawa June 24-and is preparing for a possible backlash.

"We still do encounter some instances where our members are intimidated by members of other trade unions," says the new regional director of CLAC-Ottawa, Ian DeWaard. "Some of my colleagues have been followed home during organizing campaigns. I’ve been kindly requested to get off property with a lead pipe."

DeWaard admits labour conflict was far worse 52 years ago when European immigrants formed CLAC. "All kinds of things happened then. Job shacks went up in smoke. Tires on equipment were slashed.

"Now it’s much more subtle. The antagonism is more them trying to discredit us by saying CLAC is soft; CLAC is the employer’s union."

CLAC’s aim to bring biblical principles of justice, fairness and dignity to the workplace gives rise to charges that is not a real union.

"In reality, we are just as ready to take on the challenge when the work place is adversarial, but that is not our goal," DeWaard says.

While most traditional labour unions are losing members, CLAC has tripled in size over the last decade, and now represents 28,000 members in more than 500 workplaces across the country. It’s one of the bigger unions in Alberta and British Columbia.

DeWaard believes traditional labour unions remain stuck in an adversarial, 1930s mindset steeped in Marxist and socialist thought.

He notes that the principles of cooperating, empowering workers and making workplaces meaningful so that people can realize their skill sets are now some of the hottest ideas coming from business schools and human resources departments. "This is stuff we’ve been doing for 50 years," he says.

Opening an Ottawa branch was not an easy decision.

"We wrestled with whether to go to Ottawa first and expect to grow, or wait to grow and then open an office. We decided to put the egg before the chicken."

CLAC is expanding its original vision to include people of all faiths.

"We are trying to bring restoration to the area of work, regardless of the worker’s belief system. That’s what we’re called to do," he says. "This is our way of engaging the culture. We don’t proselytize."

While they are a true labour union, CLAC is not under the umbrella of the Canadian Labour Congress. For more information, visit www.clac.ca